Buy stock now: Which Iowa football players are trending upward this spring

IOWA CITY — There was a moment during Saturday’s open practice at Kinnick Stadium when Cooper DeJean and John Nestor were nearly face-to-face.

They were on the sideline. DeJean, who was bundled in regular clothes, could be Iowa’s next first-round pick in the NFL Draft this week. Nestor, still a member of Iowa’s active roster, was in uniform with pads and a helmet.

But briefly, the former teammates stood in front of each other on Iowa’s sideline as if DeJean were getting ready to guard Nestor. Or vice versa.

It’s not difficult to draw some bigger-picture symbolism from this scene of two defensive backs.

DeJean was once in a spot similar to Nestor. Like Nestor, DeJean had a limited role as a freshman at Iowa and was still relatively unproven at the college level.

DeJean, of course, broke out in his second season with the program. He excelled again last season, setting him up in a favorable spot for the upcoming NFL Draft.

To say that Nestor is on his way to replicating DeJean’s ascent would be extremely unfair expectations. But it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say there is some serious buzz around what Nestor is capable of.

Let’s dive into some players, including Nestor, who have raised their stock this spring. This is meant to look at players who have flown relatively under the radar but garnered more attention this spring.

Kaden Wetjen

The offensive side of the ball has much further to go than the defensive side, so let’s get into someone who can help that unit.

Asked about wide receivers, offensive coordinator Tim Lester name-dropped Kaleb Brown, Jarriett Buie and Kaden Wetjen. Lester said Wetjen has been “extremely explosive,” something that Iowa’s offense needs as much of as it can get.

Wetjen didn't appear for Iowa in 2022, his first season with the program after transferring from Iowa Western Community College. But Wetjen took on a role last season on special teams. He returned 14 kickoffs for 335 yards and when DeJean suffered an injury, Wetjen took over as Iowa’s primary punt returner.

Wetjen could be in line to become a more prominent part of Iowa’s offense in 2024. Wide receiver is a position where Iowa badly needs production. Nico Ragiani and Diante Vines, two members of Iowa’s receiver rotation last season, have departed the program. Jacob Bostick recently entered the transfer portal.

Iowa is returning Kaleb Brown and Seth Anderson, and could still add from the transfer portal, but that position group is a major question mark entering the season and should take all the help it can get. Wetjen could be a wild card at that position.

He flashed that potential during Saturday’s open practice, catching a short touchdown pass from Deacon Hill.

Zach Lutmer

Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker admitted that this wasn’t a surprise internally. But outside of the program, it might be.

So that Parker dropped praise unprompted for Lutmer is certainly noteworthy.

Parker said when asked specifically about him later: “He has a great skill set and moving-wise, but his reaction and how he falls into some plays that he's made that you sit there and say, that's pretty impressive.”

A 3-star recruit from Rock Rapids, Iowa, Lutmer didn't play much for the Hawkeyes last season, allowing him to maintain his redshirt. This spring, Parker said that he has been moving Lutmer around at free safety, strong safety and the cash position.

There isn’t necessarily a clear path to playing time for Lutmer in 2024, especially with both Xavier Nwankpa and Quinn Schulte returning. But having someone with the versatility of Lutmer to add depth is a luxury. Even if he doesn’t make an impact this season, he could be someone to keep an eye out for further down the line.

“He still needs to grow,” Parker said. “He still needs to mature and be a little bit more vocal. Being a young guy coming in and trying to control the back end is not easy. You're the one who has to be confident, and I think he's gaining confidence by the day.”

Terrell Washington Jr.

Washington Jr. has emerged as a sort of Swiss army knife on Iowa’s offense.

He was mostly buried on last season’s depth chart in the backfield, combining for 50 yards on nine carries. But now heading into his second season with the program, Washington has been getting reps at both running back and slot receiver during the spring.

“I’m very agile,” Washington said of his ability to play receiver.  “I feel like I can move in and out of breaks good.”

This isn’t entirely new to Washington, who played running back and receiver in high school. Utilizing him at both seems like it could be of benefit to Iowa’s offense for multiple reasons.

One being that Iowa’s running back room is already really crowded. The Hawkeyes return Leshon Williams, Kaleb Johnson, Jaziun Patterson and Kamari Moulton. Barring major injuries, it’s unlikely that Washington Jr. would be the lead back. On top of that, Iowa could use his playmaking at receiver given the Hawkeyes’ deficiency in that area.

“Done a good job, getting better,” Lester said. “Sometimes he runs a route and he still looks like a running back running a route, and then sometimes he looks great.”

During Saturday’s open practice, Washington Jr. still showed why it’s not worth giving up on what he can provide at running back, too. He snapped off a touchdown run of more than 55 yards.

John Nestor

Iowa got a preview of having to deal with life after Cooper DeJean the last four games of last season. Now it will have to do that permanently. 

The expectation is that veteran Jermari Harris will get the start at one of the cornerback spots. Harris, who started 12 games for Iowa last season, has missed time this spring due to injury, but it isn’t expected to be a long-term issue.

There is some healthy competition for who could fill that second starting spot. Nestor, TJ Hall and Deshaun Lee could be in the mix. Lee started six games last season for Iowa — two at the beginning of the season filling in for Harris and four at the end in place of DeJean.

But Nestor is among those fighting for a start job this season. Parker said that "he's been playing well. I like the way he's playing.”

Having this level of depth at cornerback is a plus. Iowa saw the downside to not having that two seasons ago when DeJean went down in what ended up being a disappointing loss to Nebraska. Iowa was able to fill voids on multiple occasions last season because of Lee.

So even if Nestor doesn’t start, having him ready in case of unforeseen circumstances is yet another reason why Iowa’s defense could be elite in 2024.

“His whole goal, in my mind, is to push you greater than what (you think) you can even be,” Nestor said of Parker. “We have a lot of talent in our group and a lot of guys that love the game of football, which is really rare to find — a passionate group of guys. So I think it’s really good for us because he pushes us so hard because he wants us to be so good in the future. And he wants to propel us to the next level.”

Follow Tyler Tachman on X@Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com